Paul Harkins
Paul Harkins

Dr Paul Harkins

Lecturer T&R

Biography

My lecturing role at Edinburgh Napier University began in 2005 when I started teaching the Business of Music modules on the BA (Hons) Popular Music degree before becoming a permanent member of staff in October 2007. I have been responsible for designing and leading new undergraduate modules about the music industries and the history of music technologies. I was Programme Leader from 2015-2018 and have been nominated in the Best Feedback Category at the NSA Awards.

My PhD research was about the history and uses of sampling technologies and my book, Digital Sampling (Routledge), was published in 2019. I have also written about the politics of copyright, the aesthetics of mash ups, and published articles in Popular Music, Popular Music & Society, IASPM@Journal, Journal on the Art of Record Production, and Reseaux. I'm currently working on research projects about digitalisation and democratisation, Syco Systems and the distribution of musical instruments, and Kate Bush's use of the Fairlight CMI.

I am keen to exchange ideas and share research with a wide audience. In 2011, I organised and chaired a debate about song lyrics with Ian Rankin and King Creosote at the launch of Edinburgh City of Literature's 'Let's Get Lyrical' campaign and took part in an AHRC New Generation Thinkers Media Training Workshop. One of two early career researchers invited to take part in music policy workshops funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, I have contributed to policy debates by writing op-ed pieces about copyright and the music industries and participating in a round-table discussion about the creative industries for The Times. I was recently awarded funding by the AHRC to host an event at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford called 'Uncovering the Secrets of the Fairlight CMI' as part of the 2019 Being Human festival.

I worked for PRS For Music and as a music publisher before becoming a lecturer and have contributed articles to Product magazine, The Scotsman newspaper, and The Conversation website. I am a member of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM), the Association for the Study of the Art of Record Production (ASARP), and the Scottish Pop Ideas Network (SPIN).

Date


36 results

The Strange Delights of ‘The Whipped Cream Mixes’: The Aesthetics, Humour and Tradition of Mash-ups

Presentation / Conference
Harkins, P. & Brøvig-Hanssen, R. (2010, December)
The Strange Delights of ‘The Whipped Cream Mixes’: The Aesthetics, Humour and Tradition of Mash-ups. Paper presented at Art of Record Production (ARP), Leeds Metropolitan University
No abstract available.

Appropriation, Additive Approaches and Accidents: The Sampler as Compositional Tool and Recording Dislocation

Journal Article
Harkins, P. (2010)
Appropriation, Additive Approaches and Accidents: The Sampler as Compositional Tool and Recording Dislocation. Journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, 1(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.5429/2079-3871%282010%29v1i2.3en
Brian Eno describes the recording studio as a compositional tool that has enabled composers to enjoy a more direct relationship with sound. This article will explore the use o...

Appropriation, Additive & Accident: A Case Study of Digital Sampling and Recording Dislocation

Presentation / Conference
Harkins, P. (2010, June)
Appropriation, Additive & Accident: A Case Study of Digital Sampling and Recording Dislocation. Paper presented at ANR Research Workshop, Universite Paris 1
No abstract available.

Transmission Loss and Found: The Sampler as Compositional Tool

Journal Article
Harkins, P. (2009)
Transmission Loss and Found: The Sampler as Compositional Tool. Journal on the Art of Record Production, 4,
This article explores the use of the digital sampler as one of the studio tools that forms part of this creative process and focuses on interviews with a group of Edinburgh mu...

Transmission Loss and Found: The Sampler as Compositional Tool

Presentation / Conference
Harkins, P. (2008, November)
Transmission Loss and Found: The Sampler as Compositional Tool. Paper presented at Art of Record Production (ARP), University of Massachusetts
Item subsequently published as journal article - see item http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/5031

Todd Edwards & the microsample: speed & spirituality in UK Garage.

Presentation / Conference
Harkins, P. (2007, October)
Todd Edwards & the microsample: speed & spirituality in UK Garage. Paper presented at Mediation, Movement and Microrhythm in Groove-Based Music Workshop, University of Oslo, Norway
My paper will examine the role of New Jersey producer Todd Edwards within the development of UK Garage by focussing on his use of microsamples which Simon Reynolds describes a...

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